Five Vietnamese workers killed in Jordanian toxic gas explosion

A toxic gas explosion Monday at the port of Aqaba in Jordan killed five Vietnamese workers and injured seven others, authorities confirmed.

They were crew members working on the ship Forest 6, numbered VRUK3, originating in Hong Kong.

In total, the accident killed at least 13 people and injured 251 others.

A chlorine gas leak occurred after a tank filled with 25 tonnes of chlorine gas being exported to Djibouti fell while being transported, Jordanian officials stated.

A video posted on the Twitter page of Jordan’s state television showed a storage tank falling from a winch and slamming into the deck of a ship, followed by yellow-coloured gas rising into the air as people ran away, Reuters reported.

CCTV footage shows a storage tank containing chlorine gas crashing into a ship after falling from a winch in Aqaba, Jordan on June 27, 2022. Footage courtesy of Jordan TV.

Aqaba Port at the north end of Red Sea has long been a major transit route for Jordanian imports and exports.

Vietnam's Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on Thursday required the two companies whose five employees died in the explosion to bring the deceased back home.

Leaders of the ministry's department of overseas labor management said they had asked both firms to coordinate with ship owners and Jordanian authorities to clarify the cause of the incident and ensure the interests of the dead employees and their families.

“The two companies have to take care of the aftermath, bring the bodies or remains back home, and report to family members.”

If workers who are injured or are still working wish to return to their home country, they must be supported by relevant parties to come back.

During the process, the companies can contact the department of overseas labor management or the Vietnamese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, which concurrently covers Jordan for support, they added.

A day ago, Vietnam’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son had a phone call with Jordanian officials, asking for a quick investigation into the cause of the explosion and assistance for the deceased victims.

He also asked Jordan to support the Vietnamese Embassy in protecting and helping its citizens.

Vietnam currently has about 580,000 workers employed abroad, mainly in markets like Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan in the fields like mechanics, agriculture, fisheries, fishing crews, and nursing.